Please can you inform me of any areas or on a bus service known to occasion high revenue loss to TFL? I would be grateful for any information that covers the period of October 2019 of what bus areas or bus service is known to occasion high revenue loss to TFL. If October 2019 is not available, then any information from any period, whether the information TFL has is in weeks, months or years, before during or after October 2019 would be helpful. What does TFL consider a reasonable time for a passenger to find and produce their tickets or passes for inspection? What training are RPI given in dealing with passengers finding their tickets? What training are RPI given when passengers state they can't find their tickets? What is the TFL procedure if a passenger requires more time to find their tickets?

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TfL Ref: 2005-2021

Thank you for your requests received by us on 7 and 13 January 2021 asking for information about Transport for London’s (TfL) Revenue Protection Officers and revenue loss.

Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold the information you require. You asked for the following:

Please can you inform me of any areas or on a bus service known to occasion high revenue loss to TFL?

I would be grateful for any information that covers the period of October 2019 of what bus areas or bus service is known to occasion high revenue loss to TFL.

If October 2019 is not available, then any information from any period, whether the information TFL has is in weeks, months or years, before during or after October 2019 would be helpful.

TfL monitors fare evasion primarily through reports by bus drivers and Public Transport Officers. TfL also commission an independent survey company to monitor and assess levels of fare evasion on a rolling basis across the year. Information from bus drivers and our staff is collated in four-week periods based on the financial year.

In response to your request for data covering October 2019; information is supplied for Period 7 (15/09/2019 to 12/10/2019) and Period 8 (13/10/2019 to 09/11/2019). This data is the information reported by bus drivers. Drivers can report fare evasion through two main methods:

• Via Driver Incident Reports (DIRs): used by drivers to directly communicate with the TfL Network Management Control Centre if they feel an emergency response and support may be required (for example, if the driver feels threatened).

• Via SMS reporting: used by drivers to simply press a button to capture a record of passengers who are fare evading, where the driver does not feel an emergency response and support is required.

This information is also supported by and validated through feedback from Public Transport Officers deployed to apparent high fare evasion routes and locations.

Routes with the highest reports of fare evasion based on DIRs for October 2019 are provided below:

• Period 7: N279, 83, 128, 140, 229, 263, 8, 12, 25, 34
• Period 8: N29, 83, 29, 25, 51, 12, 121, N25, N207, 266

Routes with the highest reports of fare evasion based on driver SMS reporting for October 2019 are as follows:

• Period 7: 223, 343, 272, 601, 305, 56, 577, 258, 260,158
• Period 8: 233, 444, 419, 601, 272, 604, 158, 321, 205, 56

Prior to starting their ticket inspections on either deck, and from the front of the bus so they’re facing passengers, Public Transport Officers would normally announce their presence and ask passengers to have their tickets and passes ready for inspection. The purpose of this is to allow passengers time to have their ticket/pass ready which speeds up the inspection process for everyone (officer and customers alike). Prior to every passenger interaction, officers carry out a dynamic risk assessment, and are expected to have situational awareness as part of this.

What does TFL consider a reasonable time for a passenger to find and produce their tickets or passes for inspection?

There is no fixed time period, and every interaction depends on the situation. For instance, if the passenger is attempting to locate their ticket or pass but it is having difficulty doing this, the officer would engage them with standard questions. The officer would then determine what’s ‘reasonable’ in the circumstances, i.e. If the passenger is intending to alight at the next bus stop then this would mean that the bus could be held whilst the officer deals with the situation. In this case, the officer may be able to decide a course of action sooner. Alternatively, they may give more time if the passenger is becoming anxious.

In all cases, officers are expected to be courteous, thoughtful and ask passengers to double check that they can’t find their ticket/pass for inspection.

What training are RPI given in dealing with passengers finding their tickets?

Officers undertake scenario-based learning and are assessed on how they respond in situations calmly, professionally, with curiosity and concern to deliver high levels of compliance with the regulations governing the bus network. Scenarios used in training include how to ask for tickets/passes and how to manage a situation when a passenger can’t find their ticket/pass.

What training are RPI given when passengers state they can't find their tickets?

Officers are also given procedural training on this type of occurrence, such as how to report the irregularity and what should be explained to the passenger.

What is the TFL procedure if a passenger requires more time to find their tickets?

Passengers who are reported for not being able to find their ticket or pass after reasonable time may be contacted by TfL’s Investigations, Appeals and Prosecutions (IAP) team and be notified of TfL’s intention to prosecute. The offender is always given the opportunity at this time to provide IAP with any mitigations that may affect this intention, which include an opportunity to provide evidence of a valid pass used for that journey that the passenger was unable to locate at the time of the report.

If you are considering submitting a further FOI request please think carefully about whether the request is essential at this current time, as answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. Where requests are made, please note that our response time may be impacted by the current situation.

If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely

 

Jasmine Howard
FOI Case Officer
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London

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